The Demise of the Fool
Today was a tough day for me. My old company (The Motley Fool) laid off 2/3s of it’s remaining staff. The saddest part was the lack of people even noticing.
During the first round of layoffs ‘The Wake’ got the primary story of the Washington Post style section. I went on a 14 hour drunk, 100+ Fools gathered at our local drinking hole (Murphy’s) and drank well into the night. There were tears and pain, hugging and celebration of what we’d done. We came together in our time of need and it was legendary.
I stumbled back to the office at 3am and wrote some words.
During the second round of layoffs, the one where I lost my job, we again returned to Murphy’s and came together. We drank for hours past and present Fools came back to be there for friends. Again our unity shone through.
It took me days but eventually I wrote the words.
Today I went to Murphy’s for lunch and there was scarcely a dozen Fools there. I returned after work to meet only a handful. I met my friend (Jason) who lost his job today.
We drank for a bit, but there wasn’t the large number of former Fools coming out. There wasn’t the coming together. There were no tears and pain just the inevitable marching forward.
It marks the final demise of the finest place I’ve had the honor to serve.